All About HD
So you want to buy an HDTV. Here are some things to consider before you plunk down that credit card.Cathy Lu, Digital World
Cathy Lu is contributing news editor for Digital World magazine.
My husband and I don't have children, but we still have two very important babies in our lives--the high-def kind.
Our first high-definition TV arrived in December 2002: a big, bouncy, healthy 32-inch CRT. And last month, we brought home a sibling: a 30-inch, wide-screen LCD. What we save on diapers and formula, we spend on real estate. Screen real estate.
Now, I realize there are homeless people living down the street from me and children starving around the globe. But we really need two HDTVs. It's all my husband's fault. He's the one who insists that he has to play video games in high-definition; he says it gives him an advantage when it comes to shooting other players at long range. But I readily agreed to the latest purchase, since I was getting tired of tripping over Xboxes and PlayStations every time I walked across our living-room floor. Getting a second HDTV would mean banishing all of his junk to a virtually unused upstairs sitting area--and probably preventing future loss of limb.
When we were buying our first HDTV, we didn't have many options. We weren't millionaires, so our choices were a CRT from Good Guys or a CRT from Circuit City. DLPs weren't super popular at the time; plasma displays and LCDs were out of the question unless we were each willing to sell a kidney.
Today the picture is very different. For instance, you can now purchase a CRT HDTV for well under a thousand dollars. So if you're trying to spend as little money as possible, and you don't mind the giant form factor or back-breaking labor involved to move the thing, then CRT is the way to go. Not to mention the not-insignificant fact that videophiles insist it's still the best display technology.
While LCD HDTVs aren't the cheapest game in town, we decided to go with that technology because we were facing space constraints in our sitting area. Thirty inches was just about perfect for our space, and that really limited our choices to CRT or LCD. The other choices--rear-projection and plasma HDTVs--only come in giant and super-giant screen sizes (aka, more than 40 inches). And the thought of schlepping a 100-plus pound CRT up our slippery staircase was enough for us to justify the extra expense of an LCD.
Ready to Buy?
So now that we've just splurged on a second HDTV, I thought I'd share some of my own tips and items to consider when you feel ready to make that all-important purchase:
Technology. First you have to decide on the type of technology that's going to drive your set. There's all sorts of information out there about the benefits and drawbacks of plasmas versus LCDs versus rear-projection displays. Rear-projection sets have a deeper form factor whereas flat panels have their own sets of problems. For instance, plasma displays have the potential to suffer from burn-in, yet LCDs tend to have narrower viewing angles and lower contrast ratios than plasmas.
While those factors are important, I say that unless you're a true AV geek, most people who are upgrading from a standard-definition CRT television will be blown away by the quality of HDTV and won't notice some of the subtle differences between the different technologies. So ultimately, the decision comes down to (1) what you can afford and (2) what fits your home.
If you don't have a lot of money to spend, go for a CRT. A nice HD-ready CRT can be yours for about $600 or $700, last I looked. If you have a little more leeway with your budget, then think about the space you're trying to fill. We live in a cozy arts-and-crafts-style house, so the rooms are small, and it would feel overwhelming to have a 42 or 50-inch TV. But if you have a big, long media room in which the couch is situated far from the TV, then you'll want to go bigger so you won't be squinting at the screen. Essentially, the choice boils down to CRT or LCD if you want a sub-40-inch TV, and LCDs, plasma displays, or rear-projection televisions for something larger. And you've got three rear-projection technologies to choose from: DLP (Digital Light Processing), LCoS, or LCD.
The Wide-screen Effect. True high-definition viewing requires a wide-screen display, which means a 16:9 aspect ratio rather than the 4:3, squarer aspect ratio you're probably accustomed to. This may sound crazy, but personally, I'm not a fan of the wide-screen format. It's great for watching movies and HD content, as well as playing certain games, but most standard-definition content looks stretched or otherwise disproportionate. Most TVs should have a setting that lets you watch standard-def TV in a normal ratio--although you might see black bars along the sides--but it's not ideal and can sometimes be a pain to configure (for instance, I still haven't figured out how to display the picture on our new LCD TV so that Regis and Kelly don't look either stretched or bloated). So if you watch a lot of television that's not broadcast in high-def, know that you'll have to deal with this headache if you buy a wide-screen TV.
For instance, less than half the shows I watch are broadcast in high-def at this point, Las Vegas and ER among them. And the Food Network hasn't embraced high-def yet. For shame! (See "What's On, What's Next" for more on the current HD offerings.)
Cost Isn't Everything. When we were shopping for our LCD TV, we obviously were drawn to the lower-priced models. But there are a few things to watch for with cheaper LCDs. For one, many of them have enhanced-definition displays, rather than true high definition. ED displays a 480p picture, which is better than the 480i picture offered by standard-definition TVs but not as high-quality as the 720p or 1080i (and now 1080p) picture offered by true HDTVs.
In addition, certain extras might cost more. For instance, we wanted a TV with an HDMI connector. HDMI is a digital connector that carries both audio and video in one cable. In addition to offering the highest-quality video, it also reduces cable clutter. Many newer components now sport this high-quality connector, and it will likely be the connector of choice for future components such as high-def DVD players and HD tuners.
Of course, there are a host of other factors you'll want to consider before you buy an HDTV--like picture quality and remote control, for example. So for a detailed guide, make sure you check out our primers on "How to Buy a Flat-Screen TV" and "How to Buy a Rear-Projection TV."
Here's one last piece of advice: Don't delay. You can drive yourself crazy waiting for prices to drop, and in the meantime, you'll miss out on the season finale of Alias or the NBA finals in HD, just to save a couple hundred bucks. Plus, experts say that prices are stabilizing and may not come down much in the next year, so it may not even save you much money to wait. (See "Have Flat-Panel TV Prices Flatlined?" for the full story.)
Finally, even if you already have an HDTV (or two), your job's not necessarily done. There are things that you can do to get the most from your TV and keep your picture looking optimal. Calibration is an important part of the post-purchase process; you'll want to eke the best-looking picture possible from your TV. Fortunately, the process isn't as hard as it sounds. To find out how to calibrate your TV, read "Polish Your TV's Picture."
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